The Back-Alley
by Raven of the Shadows
Summary: Remus is in hurry and decides to take the back-alley shortcut, where he finds a drunken man shouting at the top of his voice.


_Written for NeonDomino, the biggest WolfStar shipper I've ever met.  
I hope you like this one, Liza :)_

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 **The Back-Alley**

Remus was afraid of dogs; that's why he never took the back-alley shortcut to the market. But he was in a hurry, so he cut through the streets entered the alley which haunted him in his nightmares. He had taken a dozen steps in when he heard someone shouting at the top of their voice. Remus contemplated turning back and taking the longer, safer route, but then decided to man up.

The sound steadily got louder, though Remus couldn't make out the words, what with the background music the street dogs were providing. It was a good thing, Remus assumed, because as the dogs were busy with the shouting man (the voice was distinctly male), they kept their distance from him.

It was only when he had taken another turn that the source of the sound came into view. The man's back was turned to him. He was tall—shorter than Remus, but tall nonetheless—had wavy black hair that reached past his shoulders, and was wearing jeans and a black wifebeater that showed off his lean, muscular figure.

And, of course, he was still shouting. A drunken rant, Remus guessed, from the way man swayed slightly whenever he took another step towards god knows what. That, and the bottle of alcohol in his hand.

"Finally free, aren't I, from—from the lot of you!" Remus knew he should turn away, or ignore the man and walk past, but something about the guy drew Remus to him. "The tyrant's rule is broken." The black haired man hiccuped. "I'm free. Homeless and FREE!" Then, as if sensing someone else's presence, the man turned.

Remus started, then stared at the guy's face. He looked same age as Remus, perhaps younger. And Remus couldn't look away from those startling, silvery-gray eyes, which were staring right into his own amber ones. Before either of them could move, the other man swayed and fell to his knees.

He knew he should avoid the drunk guy and move, but Remus' feet had a mind of their own and led him to the fallen man. "Hey," he heard himself say, then he flushed as he realised how high-pitched his voice had sounded.

"I'm Sirius. Not Sirius Black. Just Sirius," the guy in front of him said, extending a hand which was trembling slightly. In fact, the man was shivering, which was a given, Remus thought, as he was out in just a T-shirt. It was January, for god's sake. Remus shook the man's hand, deciding to ignore the strange introduction.

"I'm Remus." He hesitated, then decided to say what was on his head. "I couldn't help but overhear you," he said, leaving out the 'because you were shouting.' "What do you mean by you're homeless?"

Sirius grinned widely. "Ran away, didn't I, from home—if it was ever that?" His words slurred slightly, but the intensity behind them surprised Remus. The man, Sirius, suddenly stood up. "Ran away from the monkeysluts, I did!"

It was then Remus decided that the man was utterly deranged. Well, he shouldn't judge him too harshly, as he was drunk. And he should help. That was the excuse Remus gave his mind when he removed his jacket and helped the man into it. It was slightly longer on the man. Slightly tighter, too, but it would have to do.

Remus didn't have even that pitiful of an excuse of why he took the guy—Sirius, he told himself—back to the orphanage, risking Sister Kohl's rath.

Next morning, when Sirius woke up (and nearly flattened Remus, who was on the floor), he reintroduced himself, and Remus found that the man was as cutely deranged in his sober self as he was in drunken one.

It was when the discussion came back to why Sirius said he was homeless that the guy grew sombre. "I hadn't planned to run away for another week. My friend, James, whose house I was supposed to go to is still away on a vacation. But I just couldn't take more shit from the people who are genetically related to me."

Remus reached out and touched Sirius' shoulder, and the soft smile that adorned the latter's lips warmed the former's heart.

"Well, I should not impose on your hospitality more than I have already," said Sirius, standing up.

"N-no, it is—I don't mind—" Remus said, then stopped when he realised he was at orphanage and Sister Kohl wouldn't allow him to keep Sirius. 'Keep Sirius?' he thought, 'Where did that come from?'

Sirius chuckled, his laughter like the bark of a dog. It didn't even scare Remus like every other dog-sound did. "You don't need to be nice," Sirius said. "James will be back today, so I can camp there." He walked to the door, and Remus blanched.

"You have to go out of the window," Remus said. Sirius looked at him incredulously. "What? I am not supposed to bring anyone in the orphanage."

Sirius looked around, as if taking in the room for the first time. "We're at an orphanage?" Remus nodded, and Sirius moved to the window. "That's why," he said. "I was wondering why I had never seen you at school. You must go to the community one, yes?"

Remus nodded again, opening the window, and Sirius leapt out gracefully.

"You're a monkeyslut." Remus murmured.

Sirius laughed. "What? Where did you hear that? And why?"

"I heard you saying that yesterday." Sirius laughed. "And you," Remus pointed a finger at him, "jumped out without looking even. What if we were on the second floor instead of the ground floor?"

"Well, I guess I trusted you," Sirius said. There was no laughter in his voice, and his grey eyes looked at Remus intently, as if trying to bare his soul. Then Sirius shook his head. "It is a goodbye, then?"

"Yeah," said Remus. "Yeah, I guess."

Sirius started walking away, then turned over his shoulder. "T'is alright if we hang out sometime?"

Remus felt a smile creeping onto his face, and suddenly, his heart didn't feel so heavy. He nodded.

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 **Word Count:** 1008

 **Prompts Used:**

From Gift Giving Gala (Hogwarts)

• Wolfstar  
• Homeless!AU (But with Sirius being the homeless one)  
• Fluff

From Prompt of the Day Challenge (The Golden Snitch)

 _Submission from Mahoutokoro (House: Mizu)_  
• (insult) Monkeyslut 


End file.
